Irrigation

I spent hours upon hours last season in the fields of Cure alongside Donald (my co-intern), us both swearing off drip tape. Knowing that some better way MUST exist...somewhere? Well, I never found that better way but hey Donald, this here's for you: We laid the tape on every single row, no moving of lines. And no re-adjusting either -- we staked them down. Yes, we'll have to be extra careful to remove all the metal from the field before bringing the tractor back in (no, I wasn't proactive enough to spend this past winter widdling those wooden stakes we talked about).

So the drip tape I promised myself I'd never use on my farm is now irrigating our crops. My moral dilemmas with using the tape left me standing between a rock and a hard place. I've yet to devise a satisfactory alternative (if only rain worked the way it used to!). My main problem, aside from the fact that the drip tape will eventually end up in a landfill, is concerning water traveling through flimsy black plastic in the hot sun. Call me neurotic but this just doesn't seem to me like a healthy way to deliver water to the soil. Still, the other means of crop irrigation I'm aware of all present their own challenges. Namely, (a) finding a practical way around the PVC, (b) the need to use a LOT more water, and (c) watering the weeds the same as the crops. At the very least, drip tape has efficiency on its side. And let me tell you it feels like a god-send compared to our previous, almost laughable method of dragging an oscillating sprinkler attached to a green hose around every section of the field.

There was intense exhaustion mixed with a strong sense of accomplishment in the air around 4pm yesterday. We'd built a header pipe, drilled holes for the grommets and valves, and laid & staked 46 lines during the hottest part of a Georgia summer day...and on plants that were already well established to boot (this is a task that goes by much more quickly when dealing with new transplants). At the first sight of the water flowing through the lines my mom jokingly suggested we break out the champagne -- that summed up my sentiments exactly. Okay, there are still a few kinks to be worked out. Allan is working to fix the pressure so that the top of the field gets watered as well as the first lines in the system (luckily, he's a good trouble shooter). We're still awaiting electricity on the property so that we won't have to rely on a generator to power our well pump. But mostly I think we're all breathing a collective sigh of relief that watering the crops is no longer the extraneous measure it was up until 2 days ago.

Field view from yesterday morning before the tape was laid.

The addition of drip tape really gives the field a whole new feel.

On a harvest note, it's been so gratifying to see the first fruits come on many of the plants this past week. We also had our first small harvest yesterday - just basil and chard. We ended up with a few pounds of basil and several bunches of chard. Next week I expect we'll have summer squash ready to harvest as well, meaning we're about to be swimming in the stuff. Gotta get that farm stand up!

I'll leave you again with more of Joaquin's pictures. (How lucky we are to have our very own photojournalist documenting the farm's progress!)

Happy eating!
Jessica

First cherry tomatoes (Sun Golds, my very favorites!)

First melon (about the size of a golf ball)

First summer squash (yellow crookneck and green zucchini)

First Butternut Squash (about the size of a quarter)

Bring on the cauliflower

Speckled Amish Bibb lettuce

The tomato plants are really getting big!